Seattle Seahawks CB Richard Sherman talked a lot of trash leading up to the game this past Sunday, even going so far as to change his Twitter Name to Optimus Prime. And even though the Detroit Lions won the game, Sherman was quick to point out his “accomplishments.”
Richard Sherman still talking. On Calvin Johnson "You see his numbers, they speak for themselves. He was a non-factor"
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) October 28, 2012
Sure, Richard, Calvin Johnson was indeed a non-factor. His 3 catches for 46 yards while he played with a banged up knee were meaningless.
What Sherman doesn’t realize is that when you shade a safety over the top and leave Calvin double-covered it does make him a factor. Titus Young had 9 receptions for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns, which would not have been possible had Calvin Johnson not been double-covered. And the first touchdown that Young caught was with Sherman covering him.
I was at the game and it should be noted that Sherman didn’t cover Calvin the whole game. He spent most of the time covering solely the receiver on the left-side of the field. There were multiple times where CB Brandon Browner and SS Kam Chancellor were covering Calvin over on the right-side of the field, and if Calvin lined up in the slot, Marcus Trufant was the main defender.
You can even see in this photo that it is Brandon Browner making the tackle on the play, because Sherman wasn’t covering him.
Sherman acts as though as he was the only one that was covering Megatron, but this isn’t even close to the case. Perhaps next time, instead of being delusional and only caring about his personal performance on the field that he should worry about whether his team wins or loses the game.
H/T: Larry Brown Sports